CALL FOR PAPERS

[Luisa Martin Rojo]

CALL FOR PAPERS


Persons interested in participating in the Panel on Ideologies and
Language Practices in Immigrant Services may contact Melissa G. Moyer
(melissa.moyer at uab.es) or Luisa Martin Rojo (luisa.rojo at uam.es)  before
October 26, 2002. A short abstract is needed by this date in order to
submit the panel proposals with the participants.



             IPrA PANEL ON  IDEOLOGIES AND LANGUAGE PRACTICES IN IMMIGRANT
SERVICES




Organized by: Luisa Martin Rojo (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) and
Melissa G. Moyer (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona)


Discussants: Jan Blommaert (University of Ghent), Jim Collins (State
University of New York, Albany)



Colloquium Theme


Immigration from so-called developing countries to the developed world as
part of a global trend in present day economies is a key issue on the
political agendas in many countries. The need for a cheap workforce,
together with the absence of policies aimed at the integration of immigrant
workers in host societies produces segregation, and social tensions.
Conflict also exists in countries with general social policies and services
addressed specifically to immigrants, promoting the competition between
local inhabitants and newly arrived immigrants over limited resources. In
many cases policies oriented to transform these societies, encouraging
integration and cultural, religious, and linguistic diversity are often
unfeasible, because they do not always have the support of the population.
This colloquium seeks to critically examine these policies and their
effects by addressing language practices and institutional ideologies in
the institutional context. The presentations in this session focus on the
general social services available to immigrants.  Attention is also
dedicated to the emergence and functioning of mediating agencies, supported
by the public administration and NGOs created to inform and facilitate
these services and benefits to immigrants. Other aspects that are
considered are the asymmetric social relations present in those contexts
where locally born institutional representatives, immigrant service
seekers, and cultural mediators interact. Language data is carefully
analyzed since it is the locus of struggle and ideological conflict. Social
categorizations and ethnic stereotypes are constructed through language in
interactions and they influence the complex and rich  inferential
processes, such as the support the interlocutors need, and the information
and knowledge they already have. Thus, in order to understand the
interactional dynamics it is necessary to take into account nationalist and
cultural ideologies.  Presentations in this colloquia also address the
analysis of interactions in different types of immigrant services with the
goal of linking local level processes with their wider societal meaning in
order to achieve a better understanding of the mechanisms that produce and
sustain social inequality and racism in present day societies.


Luisa and Melissa


Dr. Melissa G. Moyer
Department de Filologia Anglesa
Edifici B
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona
Spain


Phone: (34) 935812326
Fax: (34) 935812001


e-mail: melissa.moyer at uab.es




Luisa Martin Rojo
Depto. de Linguistica, Logica, Lenguas modernas y Filosofia de la Ciencia
Universidad Autonoma de Madrid
Ciudad Universitaria de Cantoblanco
28049 Madrid
tel. +34 91 397 87 07
fax.: +34 91 397 44 98
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